The free association movement in Puerto Rico refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at changing the current political status of Puerto Rico to that of a sovereign freely associated state with the United States. Locally, the term soberanista ("sovereignty supporter") refers to someone that seeks to redefine the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States to that of a compact with full sovereignty. The term is mostly used in reference to those that support a compact of free association or a variation of this formula, commonly known as Estado Libre Asociado (ELA) Soberano ("Sovereign Associated Free State" or "Free Associated State"), between Puerto Rico and the United States. Members of the independence movement that are willing to pursue alliances with this ideology are occasionally referred to as such, but are mostly known as independentistas ("independence supporters"). Consequently, soberanismo (English: "sovereigntism") then became the local name for the free association movement.
Early proposals pursuing an unrefined form of sovereign association emerged during the 1880s and 1920s, but failed to gain an immediate foothold. The current territorial Commonwealth status is the consequence of its architect's inability to implement his original vision. When first proposed by Resident Commissioner Antonio Fernós-Isern, the concept was akin to a form of sovereign free association such as the one found in the Commonwealth realms. In 1950, Fernós used his function as Resident Commissioner to influence a process held between March 30 and July 3, that ended with the approval of Public Law 600, which allowed Puerto Rico to draft its own Constitution and adopt a new political system. He expected that by adopting this law, the control that the United States retained would only be considered a form of trusteeship, with sovereignty being partially split between both sides due to voluntary relegation, in line with the United Nations Trusteeship Council. At the moment Fernós expected that the territorial clause would not apply after reclaiming sovereignty, due to the fact that the United States never incorporated Puerto Rico. During the original negotiation process in Congress, Fernós was aware that several key elements of his project were being removed, but opted to focus on its initial approval, believing that he would not be able to accomplish everything at once. Under these arguments, the adoption of Law 600 was approved on June 5, 1951. The name of Estado Libre Asociado (lit. "Associated Free State") was adopted as the official Spanish name, while the official English name avoided naming any form of association or freedom, simply being called "Commonwealth".
Unsatisfied with the model approved, Fernós spent the following years attempting to "perfect" the Commonwealth to reflect the eponymous model in which it was based. The first project towards that goal was presented in 1953 and pursued the derogation of Puerto Rico's status as a United States possession. Despite receiving support from the United States Department of the Interior, at the moment directly in charge of territorial affairs, and the Congressional commissions that studied it, Luis Muñoz Marín ordered its retirement. This decision was later blamed on the armed forces of the United States, who opposed any decision that would endanger their complete control of the strategic territory of Puerto Rico during the height of the Cold War. Subsequent projects focused on the pursuit of sovereignty, including the Aspinall Project, which was consistent with free association as defined in UN General Assembly Resolution 1514, but failed to advance in Congress for similar reasons.
During the late 1980s, PR Sen. Marco Rigau presented a free association project that received the rejection of conservative governor Rafael Hernández Colón, establishing the sides that would permeate the internal debate of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) during the following decades. The option made its debut backed by an independent group in the inconclusive 1998 status referendum, where none of the actual status options won. The 2000s brought forth a re-emergence of the free association movement with the prominence of new leaders such as mayors William Miranda Marín, José Aponte de la Torre and Rafael Cordero Santiago. In 2008, the ELA Soberano was adopted as the PPD's institutional position by governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, a transcendental move for the movement that resounded beyond the re-election campaign. Despite being inherited by two conservative leaders, the soberanistas have continued to gain a stronghold within the PPD, seizing prominent positions including the mayorship of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan. The exposition also led to the creation of other movements that supported the ideal, such as Alianza pro Libre Asociación Soberana (ALAS) and Movimiento Unión Soberanista (MUS). As of the Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012, sovereign free association is the option with the largest growth margin among all, experiencing a hundredfold (4,536 to 454,768) expansion in only 14 years.
Historical progression Early proposals of sovereign association as a "third option"
Due to Puerto Rico's historical status debate, proposals consistent with the modern free association movement can be traced to the times when Puerto Rico was a colony of the Spanish Empire. In March 1887, Román Baldorioty de Castro presented a proposal based on the British North America Act 1867, the accord that ended the United Kingdom's colonial rule over Canada and allowed it to become a sovereign Dominion, during the inaugural convention of the Autonomist Party. However, there this effort was thwarted by the conservative members of the party, who supported a project that would turn the remaining Spanish colonies into autonomous provinces. Ever the diplomat, Baldorioty supported the posture of the mayority, ending the first attempt to create a form of sovereign association for Puerto Rico. This was followed by the Spanish–American War, which concluded with Spain surrendering the sovereignty of its colonies to the United States. The first proposal of an "Associated Free State of Porto Rico" under this regime emerged in 1922 from Union of Puerto Rico, then led by Antonio R. Barceló. Its creator was a lawyer named Miguel Guerra Mondragón, who based his proposal in the recognition of the sovereignty of separate constituent countries seen during the creation of the current model of the United Kingdom.
This initial version was ignored by the House of Representatives, despite being officially presented by Democratic congressman Phillip Campbell. Afterwards, a modified version was created by Epifanio Fernández Vanga, who described it as a "status where the people, being free, elected to associate with other people to establish a democratic base which due to mutual consent included tight economic and economic ties". This definition was officially adopted in the Union's platform. However, during the following years the discussion of the status issue stagnated, instead replaced with the serious economic concerns brought forth by the Great Depression. The Union lost its name and insignia after dissolving an alliance with the Republican Party, instead being reorganized into the new Liberal Party of Puerto Rico. This party proposed a two-step solution to the status issue, first obtaining a form of economic sovereignty and later proclaiming independence. Luis Muñoz Marín was part of the group that idealized this model. However, pressured by the economic influence of the sugar industry, the status discussion was stalled. This was exacerbated by serious differences between Barceló and Muñoz.
The pursue of sovereignty within the Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) (PPD) can be traced to the moment of its foundation.
Initial PPD proposals; other groups
The ongoing controversy over the nature of the Commonwealth and the status of its sovereignty led to the creation of groups that competed with the established parties, such as Directorio Soberanista (lit. "Pro-Sovereignty Directory"), which promoted free association, but the existence of these was brief. On November 19, 1970, the Central Council of the PPD issued what became known as the Pronunciamiento de Aguas Buenas (lit. "Aguas Buenas Pronnouncement"), which stated its support for a "complete self-government, founded in the free association with the United States and which permits and supports the country's cultural personality and the sustained development of its social and material progress."
However throughout the 1970s, conservative PPD president Hernández Colón argued that the Commonwealth already represented a form of association and the issue stagnated. Despite this, a number of unsuccessful initiatives emerged within the PPD, arguing for a form of association where the sovereignty of was directly included in the negotiation between both parties. In 1976, PROELA became the first free association organization affiliated to the PPD. The latter years of this decade brought forth a resolution where the UN's Decolonization Committee weighted on the possibility of Puerto Rico becoming an associated free state, which concluded that it was a viable option. Despite this, the topic remained unattended within the PPD while the pro-statehood PNP began a preemptive campaign where it likened free association to independence and the Soviet Union.
During the 1980s, the Bar Association of Puerto Rico determined that pre-existing compacts of association could be modified to fit the local needs. Within the PPD, senator Marco Antonio Rigau officially presented a free association proposal to the PPD's Government Board (Spanish: Junta de Gobierno), but (now governor) Hernández Colón dismissed the idea as one that contradicted the postures of his administration and stated that free association was only supported by a few "liberal quills" within the PPD and presented his own initiative excluding sovereignty as an element. Despite representing one of the earliest confrontations between the factions of the party and that the conservatives held most positions of influence, the ongoing faction skirmishes concluded with a new definition of "Commonwealth" being adopted by the General Council due to the initiative of liberal Carlos Vizcarrondo, stating that any future development would be "non colonial and non territorial".
The 1990s began with Victoria Muñoz Mendoza adopting her predecessor's conservative postures in her attempt to become governor. After this failed, the party was involved in a status referendum promoted by the PNP, administration of Pedro Rosselló where Ponce mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago mediated a timid support for sovereignty in the definition of "Commonwealth" present in the ballot. In 1997, following the failed campaign of conservative Héctor Luis Acevedo for the governorship, representative Aníbal Acevedo Vilá became the president of the PPD. Under his presidency, a Status Commission led to the Caguas mayor William Miranda Marín and senator José Ortiz Dalliot, both liberals, to determine that there was an ideological disparity between the conservative message of past PPD presidents and the party's base. While Acevedo Vilá and other factions argued for a non territorial development to the Commonwealth, when US Rep. Don Young introduced United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act in 1997 the party was divided on its language and the proposed format, eventually leaving PROELA as the only faction that supported it. The following year, the party resumed their argument for a "non territorial and non colonial" development of the Commonwealth that allowed Puerto Rico to freely commerce with other countries and join international organization while retaining the United States Citizenship.